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West Virginia education officials tour Wood County Schools Summer Learning programs

By Tyler Bennett 3 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Officials from the West Virginia Department of Education observed the curriculum of the Wood County Schools Summer Learning programs at Jefferson Elementary Center and Van Devender Middle School on Friday morning.

"We are visiting from the West Virginia Department of Education to look at the Summer School Summer Student Opportunities for Learning and Engaging (S.O.L.E.) programs that they have been participating in throughout the county," said Michelle Moore Leftwich, coordinator of federal programs. "Getting an idea of what some of the innovative activities they have been having the students participate in."

Leftwich said the point of the tour was to observe what type of activities students are participating in, how students are interacting with one another and the different types of fun activities, in addition to the learning outcomes of the lessons.

In addition to the two school tours on Friday, they have visited all three high schools in the district, she added.

Leftwich said she was impressed by Wood County Schools not only getting students caught back up after learning loss in the past year, but also preparing the students for the upcoming year as well by having more small groups with hands-on instruction.

"One of the neat things that we have seen here in Wood County is that they have a focus on not only doing the intervention and the catch-up but also preparing the students for the next year," Leftwich said. "They have been really engaged, we have talked to a few students, and they don't even realize that they're spending so much time learning content. Because it is such a fun and engaging atmosphere for them."

The Education Department provided about $34 million to counties through its second round of Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Funds for summer enrichment programs.

S.O.L.E. offers engaging summer programming to address students' social-emotional needs and support their recovery from lost learning opportunities experienced during the school year.

The programs offer in-person, research-based opportunities with free transportation and meals for all K-12 students.

With the S.O.L.E. program, Wood County Schools offers five programs available to all students in the county. Only two programs were offered to elementary students in the past.

"We've been so happy with the first two weeks, I've heard a lot of feedback from parents in the community and they've all been incredibly positive about the experiences their students are having," said Ashlee Beatty, Wood County Schools curriculum coordinator. "We are just thankful for the team effort that has taken place here in the county, from transportation to food service to the counseling department, everybody has really worked together."

Tyler Bennett can be reached at tbennett@newsandsentinel.com

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